As the economy continues to turn around, there are some elements that retailers should apply to better leverage the comeback. From a paid search perspective, Gibson recommends that retailers update their keywords based on incoming inventory.

During the recession, many retailers cut back on their inventory. Now that the economy is starting to improve, they are ordering more products. Gibson says retailers need to make sure that their new inventory is represented in paid search. He also adds that retailers need to optimize pages to guarantee that they are found in the search engines. Ultimately, no one will benefit if the new inventory cannot be found.

Gibson also tells WebProNews that The Rimm-Kaufman Group is adding products. In the past, the company focused primarily on paid search. As Gibson explains, it is now adding an attribution management component that will help its clients understand what is happening outside of paid search. RKG will talk with clients about the data it collects and help them build an attribution model.

First of all, there is no question that mobile is currently one of the hottest topics, since it provides users with accessibility anytime and anywhere. On the search side of mobile, Goodman explains that most searches are done at a local level; however, he expects search behavior to extend beyond that trend in the future.

He also points out that, in many cases, mobile is the only way other countries are able to access to the Web. As a result, these countries have produced many innovations. Moving forward, he believes these countries will have a strong influence on the U.S. in the area of mobile.

On the topic of retail, Goodman indicates that it is picking up after the downturn in 2008. Although small-to-medium sized businesses had an especially hard time during the recession, they are rebounding as well.

In order for the SMBs to compete successfully against large retailers, Goodman advises them to establish loyalty, quality service, and personal understanding. He says they can do this by being active in social media.

Lastly, if you haven’t heard about Chatroulette yet, you probably will see it soon, since it is a growing trend. Essentially, it is an online video streaming service that allows users to connect randomly with other users from all over the world. comScore became interested in the service when it grew from 109,000 users in January to 960,000 users in February.

Interestingly enough, males are the largest users of this trend, primarily the 18-24 year-old males. comScore data also indicates that Chatroulette is driven by college students and the unemployed. As for the future of this latest phenomenon, Goodman says, “[the] jury’s still out.”

Keep watching WebProNews for our next segment with comScore’s Eli Goodman in which he talks about the future of search and how personalization and social media will influence it.

When he started uShip 6 years ago, he says he was very focused on proving out their business model. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses in the Internet space tend to create a business around hype and users and consider the business model later.

Chasen advises entrepreneurs to focus on small, niche industries that maybe aren’t very “sexy.” uShip, for example, is an online marketplace for transportation services. It combines a relatively “old school” industry with new technology. Entrepreneurs need to realize that there are vast amounts of opportunity in areas such as this.

In addition, Chasen suggests that if entrepreneurs are going to fail that they need to fail quickly. He says it is inexpensive and quick to prototype new businesses and business models, so it shouldn’t take too long to find something that works. According to Chasen, the quicker you figure out how you are going to make money, the better your chances are of being successful.

He said the update was rolled out around 3 or 4 AM EST yesterday. Matt Cutts later confirmed the news in a blog post. Because it is only live at one data center, only a small number of Google users will experience Caffeine.

Although both Cutts and Google have indicated that there would not likely be a noticeable difference in search results, Schwartz says that any time the content in the index changes, the results will change as well.

In 2003, Google issued its Florida Update around this same time of year. Merchants and retailers were hit hard since millions of listings from the search results were reportedly dropped. Schwartz believes it is for this reason that Google is only releasing it to one data center. In his blog post, Cutts also assured users that the full launch would not take place until after the holidays.

While the location of the data center was not revealed, Schwartz expects webmasters to determine the specifics very soon.

What do you think about Google’s Caffeine update? Have you tested it? To what extent do you believe the search results will be impacted?

For starters, there is a big disconnect in the terminology that retailers and consumers use. Historically, retailers use terms such as “apparel” and “kitchen electrics.” However, consumers use terms such as “clothing” and “small appliances” instead. Secondly, Spencer suggests retailers think about their internal linking structure as they design their taxonomy.

Since retailers are hustling to deliver a strong Q4, Spencer also shares some quick tips they can implement now and still be successful. He says they should focus on the following areas:

-    Title Tags
-    Anchor Text on Internal Links
-    Meta Descriptions (Make sure they include value propositions and calls to action)

It is a little too late to try to launch something like a link building campaign, but the above factors can be integrated easily for speedy results.

The full-service advertising agency Sapient helped build the interface for the vending machine, as Michael Leonard of Sapient explains. The machine was debuted at the Beijing Olympics and is currently in 150 locations across the U.S. and expanding.

Sapient also helped produce a retail apparel application that allows consumers to choose clothing and even pair up outfits. The device is not just a website on a touch screen; instead, it allows users to get directly involved with the application.

Sapient provides interactive marketing and development services to help companies integrate interactivity into their products. Leonard says they have found that interaction helps drive higher turnover rates and execution of product sales. Sapient has tested visual displays without interactivity but saw the response rate was considerably lower as opposed to testing with interactivity.

If you would like find out more about Sapient and their interactive technology, visit their website.

As Matt McDowell, the Director of Business Development at Litle & Co., tells WebProNews, they are advising retailers to focus on as many consumers as possible. To do this, retailers need to authorize traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards. In addition, they should encourage alternative methods such as PayPal and Bill Me Later.

As a result of the credit crunch, some consumers are trending away from credit and debit cards. However, since 90 percent of consumers are still using them, it is important that retailers authenticate them.

Litle & Co. provides business intelligence tools to help retailers manage payments, protect against fraud, and more. If you would like to learn about how they can help you minimize your costs while increasing your revenue, visit their site.

For consumers, Price Protectr’s Priceless Alerts System allows consumers to track price changes before and/or after they make a purchase. As  James Wallace explains, Price Protectr saves the consumer both time and money by doing the comparative shopping for them and sending them email notifications containing the comparisons and any price adjustments.

It should be noted that the system is user-requested only. Price Protectr does not send unsolicited emails.

For retailers, the solution provides many marketing opportunities. First of all, it helps reduce shopping cart abandonment. Secondly, it helps retailers build a long-term relationship with consumers.

If you would like to learn more about Price Protectr’s Priceless Alerts System, visit their Business Solutions.

IMshopping is providing a solution by allowing merchants to add a human-assisted shopping community to their site. By simply designing a button and adding a bit of code to their site, a retailer can have the IMshopping community available for their customers in under an hour.

Merchants go through a recruiting process to find guides that are experts in their particular business to have them answer customer questions. IMshopping’s ability to drive traffic to your site should not be overlooked either. All discussion topics and questions are archived for customer reference which means more links to your site!

It is important for retailers to provide customers the community feel that they crave, and in this interview Mary Piontkowski and Kevin Wray discuss the value IMshopping provides for both retailers and their customers.

If you are a merchant or a curious shopper you can find out more information about IMshopping by visiting their site at www.imshopping.com.

As the economy appears to be turning for the better, retailers’ expectations are hopeful for the coming year. However, they realize that they must ensure a better consumer experience. Sheik says one method of meeting that goal is through personalization. While the Web provides many opportunities for retailers, those opportunities also mean that consumers are only 1 click away from a retailer’s competitors.

Sheik suggests that retailers build customer loyalty through a personalized and targeted experience. In addition, he says retailers need to learn to segment and microsegment across multiple channels online. Retailers have segmented successfully in brick and mortar stores and catalogs, but they also need to do it online.

Other key areas retailers should focus on for 2010 are social media and mobile. Both areas give retailers many valuable opportunities to connect with consumers.

What are you doing to prepare for 2010?

For starters, some online retailers are beginning efforts with behavioral targeting and personalization. Dahlgren herself has witnessed this happening first hand. As she browsed and added items to her cart on Overstock.com, she was given personalized suggestions for other products.

As personalization tactics become more popular, retailers must be careful to make their suggestions relevant. If not, they could end up turning the customer away.

A second area that we can expect to see more efforts moving forward is in mobile. Retailers in the U.S. are currently using mobile for driving both online and offline sales and are having great success with it.

The customer ultimately determines the success of the merchant whether he is based online, offline, or both. When you look ahead at how the e-commerce industry will evolve in the years to come, the goal of building the best online customer experience possible is still the most important factor.

In addition to these areas, Dahlgren also predicts further developments in consumer empowerment and the social aspect of commerce.

How do you expect the e-commerce industry to change in the future?

A lot of people’s initial impression of email marketing efforts is negative. However, Cavanaugh says that the market has evolved and become so sophisticated that many marketers are not even trying negative efforts due to the bad results they produce.

Instead, they are capitalizing on creative opportunities. One creative form of email marketing that has seen extensive growth recently is text messages. Marketers are using sporting events, billboards, magazine articles and more to start a conversation with consumers.

The marketer urges users to send a text and opt-in. In return, the marketer is able to follow up with an email and send users to a “dynamic” landing page. Additionally, marketers can enable the content to be distributed through social media platforms such as Facebook.

Cavanaugh shares how ExactTarget offers many solutions to allow companies enhance communication and embrace email marketing opportunities. Most recently the company partnered with Coremetrics to help marketers produce very relevant and very targeted communication based on consumer behavior.

As Samer Forzley explains, the Walk-In program lets users shop online with cash without having a credit card or even a bank account. eBillme has partnered with providers such as MoneyGram International to form a network of over 75,000 walk-in locations across the U.S.

Through the program, if a user makes a purchase online, he receives an ebill and then has the option of either paying it through online banking or through one of the physical walk-in locations. Consumers are not required to provide any credit card information or social security numbers. Instead, eBillme only needs an email address.

Since eBillme wants customers to have “total peace of mind” when they shop online, the company also provides special features including a satisfaction guarantee, best price guarantee, and fraud protection.

Brian Deagan, CEO and Co-Founder of Knotice, says there are three levels of direct digital marketing. They are:

1.    Onsite targeting and personalization
2.    Email marketing
3.    Mobile marketing

Knotice has an on-demand software platform that provides a unique solution for each of these areas. The first level of Concentri allows retailers to identify whether someone is a new customer, long-term customer, or still a prospect. It then modifies the site’s messaging to better target the customers.

The second level of Concentri that Knotice offers allows retailers to define a segmentation strategy and maintain a high level of message consistency through their website, email marketing, and even mobile efforts.

To learn more about this software platform and how you can maximize the ROI of your direct digital marketing campaign, visit Knotice.

ChoiceStream and Zappos just announced a deal this week, in which ChoiceStream personalizes recommendations on the Zappos product detail page. So if someone’s looking at a particular item, ChoiceStream recommends complimentary items and alternative items – things that might be similar to the product a shopper’s viewing.

In addition, they personalize recommendations on the shopping cart page, and also on their beta homepage.

“In the short time we’ve worked with Zappos, we’ve learned a lot about their culture, their emphasis on customer service, and also just the customer experience in general, and I think personalization is not only a way for retailers to optimize their sales and conversions, but it’s also a way optimize the customer experience for shoppers,” says Trahan.

Keep in mind that Trahan isn’t only talking about Zappos. ChoiceStream’s technology is available to other retailers as well, and recommendations in general, can be a great way to upsell to customers.